The invention relates generally to inspection systems and, more particularly, to thermographic inspection systems for defect detection within an object.
It is typically desirable to detect cracks, inclusions, and/or delamination that may be internal within composite, metallic, and ceramic parts used for complex systems, such as may be used in vehicles, engines, or power generation equipment. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques may be utilized to inspect the internal structure of such components and systems. However, conventional NDE techniques may suffer from a variety of deficiencies. For example, to the extent that defects are to be identified beneath the surface of the part or component undergoing inspection, there may be an insufficient or unacceptable signal-to-noise ratio for the inspection signal in question with respect to defects that exist beyond a certain depth with respect to the surface.
Similarly, another issue that may arise in trying to identify defects beneath the surface of a component or part is the separation of defects by distance from the surface. Such separation and characterization may be particularly useful in contexts where the component or part undergoing testing includes discrete regions or laminations characterized by depth from the surface. However, in practice, it may be difficult to achieve a meaningful or useful separation of observed defects with sufficient resolution so as to characterize or sort the observed defects based on depth.